BSA High Adventure Bases
The BSA currently owns and operates three scouting High Adventure Bases (HAB) located across the country. These bases are the pinnacle of outdoor experience in scouting, each with its own specialization. Paoli 1 attempts to create a rotating schedule so that every boy in the program will have the opportunity to attend each HAB at least once during their scouting career. Philmont Scout Ranch Located in Cimarron, New Mexico, this 214 square mile expanse of wilderness is often considered to the most prestigious of the High Adventure Bases. There are nearly one hundred camps and many more miles of trails through the ranch. The terrain varies widely over the twelve day trek from 10,000 foot peaks to dense wooded valleys, mountain streams to arid fields. Philmont is an experience never to be forgotten. More information here or from Philmont's website which can be found here. Florida Sea Base Compared to Philmont, Sea Base can seem more like a vacation than High Adventure. Located on Islamorada in the Florida Keys (two smaller bases exist as well, one in the Keys and another in the Bahamas) Sea Base runs all kinds of aquatic adventures ranging from week long fishing trips where scouts live on the boat to a series of SCUBA dives in which scouts return to base each evening. More about the Florida Sea Base can be found here. Northern Tier Northern Tier is the original High Adventure Base, founded in 1923 outside of Ely, Minnesota. Northern Tier pushes scouts to test their limits as they canoe and portage across hundreds of lakes in northern Minnesota and up into Canada. Northern Tier also runs a winter program in which canoes are replaced by sled dog teams. More information about the Northern Tier can be found here. Summit Bechtel Reserve Opened in 2013, this base offers a similar hiking program to Philmont, but allows greater access to scouts on the East Coast with 10,600 acres in the New River Gorge National River. This Appalachian experience includes white water rafting, rock climbing, and mountain biking. The base also has modern facilities and is home to the National Scout Jamboree every summer. High Adventure Base Patches For completing the program at a High Adventure Base, each scout and adult leader is awarded a patch unique to that specific base. The patch is worn on the right pocket hanging down from the button over-top of the Horseshoe ring. In addition, scouts also wear the corresponding Paoli 1 summer trip patch and a purple international scouting patch if they participated in the Northern Tier while in Canada. This purple patch is worn on the left shoulder of the uniform. Triple Crown and Grand Slam of High Adventure Awards After participating in any three of the High Adventure Bases, one is eligible to receive the highly coveted Triple Crown, the culmination of American Scouting's High Adventure. A scout may choose any combination of the four different High Adventure Bases to earn the Triple Crown Award. If a scout is to participate in all four bases, then he will earn the Grand Slam of National High Adventure Award.